Clutter, lateness, and disorder are all fantastic ways to reject ourselves. We walk into our bedroom with clothes on the floor, or in a pile on a chair, and tell ourselves, “What a mess you are!!” That hurts, and it doesn’t really motivate us to clear up the piles. We don’t want the…(Read More)

I just read Roger Cohen’s essay on depression and immigration called “The Battle to Belong” in the New York Times, 1/18/15. It is part of his beautifully written memoir of his mother’s ordeal with depression and her struggle to become English after her girlhood in sunny South Africa. She was an…(Read More)

When I turned forty, I was still single and I decided to throw a big party for myself. I invited all my friends and family, friends from childhood and college. A bash with great food and good wine. I planned ahead – or so I thought. I created a wonderful menu of delicious dishes, most…(Read More)

We are living for the year in Northern California, where the tomatoes are juicy, the peaches are heavenly and the overall quality of the food is just outstanding. As I tried to up the health level of my family, I decided to try GrassMilk for our family. GrassMilk is from grass fed cows. No, of…(Read More)

Do something difficult right this minute. Take five minutes, or ten minutes. Take that hard thing which is weighing on you a little bit. Focus on it. This will bring up some fear, worry, or a feeling of incompetence. That is why you have been avoiding this thing. If not right now, do it before…(Read More)

Here in Jerusalem most of the people I meet are doing some kind of decluttering, sorting of belongings, tossing things, and giving things away. We are getting ready for Passover, confronting our needs to save material possessions “just in case.” I spoke to a friend yesterday who wanted to save an interesting shaped bottle just…(Read More)

This morning, before I sat down to work, I did the dishes, wiped down the counters, and put loose items away. Slowly my kitchen quieted down. The space looked open, clean and cleared off. Kitchens that look like this used to puzzle me. I would go into someone’s home and notice that clean and…(Read More)

A strong and clear intention does not mean that things will be easy. We are living in Jerusalem for the year in a small apartment in a centrally located neighborhood. With strong clear intention I was able to overcome lots of setbacks and pack up our house and our suitcases for the year in Israel…(Read More)

I got so much done yesterday. It was one of those fast, non-stop days. I paused for nothing. I got my son, Jonathan, to camp, I packed for Israel, I worked on my book outline, I went to several meetings. It seemed like a great day at the time. And yet, when I finally…(Read More)

I took a look at my to-do list, first thing, and my energy dispersed the moment I realized that I had many urgent tasks to attend to and not much time to do them. As I got to work, I began skipping from one action item to the next without gaining traction on my…(Read More)